Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-07
DAILY HERALD.
STAMPEDE OF BUFFALOES.
a sight Once Seen Not Likely TO
be Ever Forgotten.

seen one and lived to tell OF it, has
witnessed spectacle to be vividly re-
membered all his days. stampede
was common occurrence in the life
of every western hunter twenty years
ago: but no one will ever look upon
one again. The hide hunters haven't
left a score of the animals alive.
During my time have had several
close shaves from stampedes, but
little the closest call | ever got was
the means OF saving my scalp. twas
in 1867, and pretty near on the line OF
Kansas and Nebraska, at point be-
tween the Republican and the Solo
mon rivers. There was a famous
grazing ground for the buffalo, and
there he was undisturbed except by
the Indians, who killed only when
they wanted meat. l have seen herds
in that country which numbered up to
y hundred thousand, and which COW
cred the prairie as far as the eye
could see.
What creates stampede? Moth
ing-anything. While the buffalo is
born in wild state, and ought to get
accustomed to storms, the sight OF
wolves, and all kinds OF noises, he is
the most timid animal on earth. |
have seen the coming up of a dark
cloud stampede 10000 buffaloes. |
have known the howl of wolf to set
q big herd in motion. A flash of
lightning or clap of thunder seemed
to scare them half to death, although
you would argue that they would
get used to it. And once started,
nothing but mountain could
turn the great wave aside, and only
exhaustion would bring them back to
their senses. After herd had fairly
started, terror seemed to take COM
plete possession OF them. and it was
was woe to the pioneer or hunter who
happened to be in their path without
n grove to shelter him. l saw, in
1857, on the Loup Fork of the Platte
river, an emigrant camp which had
been run over by a stampede. There
had been seven wagons and twenty
four people, with about thirty
head Of horses and cattle. The
rushing, terror-strick ken herd struck
the camp just about daybreak,
and was fifteen or twenty minutes
passing. Only one human being es-
caped-a man who was carried off on
the back OF a buffalo and left at spot
ten miles away. Not an animal was
left, not a vehicle escaped destruction.
1 saw the sight of the camp about
noon of that day, and there wasn't a
piece of any of the heavy wagons
which l could not have carried off
under my arm. The people had been
tramped into the earth-annihiiated-
wiped out The remains could scarce
ly be recognized as those of human
beings.
But, as to my own adventure.
There were four hunters of us in the
locality spoken of, killing various
kinds of game and doing little trap
ping, and though there were plenty of
redskins in that country, they did not
get on to us for week. We had our
camp ON a small run, or creek, with a
grove of about dozen trees for shell
ter, and obout two miles to the
other grove. The Indians hadn't
got hold OF Winchesters, and
knew nothing of revolvers in those
days, and war party of less than
twenty-five would have hesitated to
have attacked four hunters. We kept
our eyes open, however, and one was
On the watch while the other three
slept. We had been in camp nine or
ten days, and constantly surrounded
by buffaloes, when. one afternoon,
Just before sunset, it was appar-
ent from the actions of the
animals that something was in
the wind. The detachments were
consolidating, all stray bulls join
ing the herds, and almost every buffa
10 ceased feeding and acted anxious
and i'll at ease. That meant Indians.
Curious as you may think it the pres
ence of an Indian will disturb the
buffaloes sooner than that of the white
man. We couldn't say whether it was
q war party hanging around to attack
us or hunting party lowering around
on the flanks OF the great herd, but we
made all preparations that night to
defend ourselves.
/ have spoken of the second grove.
1t was composed of few stunted cot
tonwoods, and was in no sense shell
ter. Now this is what happened dur
ing the night. A war party of about
thirty-five Indians took up their po-
10 sweep down on us at daylight and
carry our camp by storm. Along to-
ward daylight they mounted and rode
softly down to within a quarter of a
mile of us, and there waited for day to
break. They would be observed by the
sentinel, but would make a rush and
carry the camp. Well, it was just
coming day, and five minutes more
would have discovered them to the
sentinel, when the big herd, which
had been gathering to the north of us,
began a stampede. The sentinel
heard them at the first start off, and
reused us up, and by the time we had
our guns in hand we could see the In
dian war party They knew what
was up better than we did, but they
we're caught between two fires, and
the chief was too slow-witted for the
occasion. His policy should have
been to charge us. He might have
lost six or eight men, but the
shelter of the grove would have saved
the rest and given them our scalps to
boot. He might not have known our
strength, and so, after spending the
valuable minutes in reflection, he or
,lered the party off to the left. The
only hope they could have was in rid
ing across the face of the herd, but
that was cut of the question. The front
covered, as we afterward knew, dis
tancc of seven miles, and the Indians
had barely got started when the first
buffaloes were in sight. They came
thicker than bees. their heads down,
horns rubbing, and their feet max
ing q great clatter, and while we
looked we saw the war party swal-
lowed up in that great heaving sea of
animal life. A moment later an old
bull dashed into and through the
yroya and every man Sprang for